@conference {3629,
title = {Using faculty learning communities to promote the development of student-centered biology instructors},
booktitle = {Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research},
year = {2015},
publisher = {SABER},
organization = {SABER},
abstract = {Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) have been promoted as a way to encourage positive changes in college teaching. The innovation--decision model has been used to describe the process by which college science instructors adopt new teaching practices. A recent revision of this model based on data from college biology instructors proposes that dissatisfaction and prioritization of teaching lead instructors to enter a change cycle of knowledge acquisition, implementation, and reflection. Our research question derives from the innovation-- decision model: does participation in an FLC provide the impetus for instructors to change their teaching and the support needed to sustain those changes? To address this question, we are conducting a five--year, longitudinal study of FLCs at six Research I universities with 19 biology faculty. The FLCs compliment the Automated Analysis of Constructed Response project (www.msu.edu/~aacr). In the first year, we collected and analyzed data in the form of semi--structured interviews, online surveys, and classroom observations. Interviews revealed participants{\textquoteright} perceptions of instructor and student roles as well as their frustrations related to teaching. Based on these perceptions, we placed participants along a spectrum of student--centered to teacher--centered thinking. For example, student--centered instructors expected to provide structure and guidance while their students worked inside and outside of class to make meaning of the material. In contrast, teacher--centered instructors rarely spoke of student roles. Survey and observation data corroborate these findings. Student--centered participants scored at least five points higher on the conceptual change/student focused scale of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory. The Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM confirmed the relatively active nature of the classrooms of student--centered participants. Based on our Year 1 findings, we hypothesize that interactions in the FLCs among faculty who differ in their thinking about teaching and their teaching practices will prompt teacher--centered instructors to initiate change while providing the necessary encouragement for student--centered instructors to overcome burn out and continue in the change cycle.},
author = {McCourt, Jill and Andrews, Tessa C. and Crumbs, Tre{\textquoteright}cherie and Knight, Jennifer K. and Merrill, John and Merrill, Scott and Nehm, Ross and Pelletreau, Karen and Prevost, Luanna B. and Smith, Michelle K. and Urban-Lurain, Mark and Lemons, Paula P.}
}